Important Health numbers men and women need to know

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Important Health numbers men and women need to know

Last Revised on November 7, 2010

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There are many important numbers that men and women need to know about so they can stay healthy:

Blood Pressure: it is also known as BP in short and measures the force of blood against the arteries. You need to make sure your blood pressure stays below 120/70. The top number is systolic and bottom is called diastolic. When your blood pressure reaches higher than 140/90, your considered hypertensive – meaning you have hypertension, a high blood pressure. The reason this number is so important is because the continuous high blood pressure is considered a silent killer as it can lead to stroke, heart disease, kidney damage, vision impairment and and affect brain functions. To lower your blood pressure, your doctor may advice consuming low fat diet, low sodium meals, exercising often, limiting alcohol and smoking cigarettes, managing stress by practicing relaxation techniques and maintaining a healthy weight.

Blood sugar: actually it is bit tricky here as we are actually talking about fasting-blood sugar which is measured after you haven’t eaten for atleast eight hours. That number should be less than 99 mg/dl. If your blood glucose level is higher than 126, that means you possibly have diabetes and your body isn’t producing insulin properly to convert sugar into energy. This is important since having diabetes can increase your risk of having a heart disease twice and increase chance of other health problems. Men and women should definitely get their blood sugar checked by age 45 and then every three years following that at the least. A hemoglobin Hb A1C test is also a good option.

Cholesterol: Your total cholesterol level should be below 200 mg/dl but your LDL cholesterol should be lower than 100 mg/dl. LDL is a low density lipoprotein that causes plaque in your blood vessels and clog them. Your should start monitoring your cholesterol level as soon as you enter your adult life where you do most things on your own without relying on parents, so maybe around age 21 start checking your cholesterol, ldl, hdl, lipids and triglycerides. The best way to manage your cholesterol level is through eating right – healthy foods with low cholesterol, saturated fat and trans fat.

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